JVC HR-S7600 S-VHS VCR
Out of stock |
Similar in VCRs
- VCR Type: S-VHS
- Number of Video Heads: 4
- Audio: Hi-Fi Stereo
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
My home workhorse
Pros
excellent video playback options
Cons
job shuttle a little non-intuitive, pause a little slow
Recommended it?
Yes
I require a VCR for my research in animal behavior. For the past six months I was on the lookout for a really good one that would fulfill all my somewhat unusual needs.
A little background: I am a graduate student in animal behavior, and I go into the wild for a few weeks or a month with a bunch of video equipment and a marine battery. I run experiments with my study animals, and videotape what happens. Then I return home, and for the following year I crawl through the videotapes in slow motion, forward and backwards, frame by frame, counting the different behaviors I see, for hours at a time.
So I use a VCR quite differently from the average VCR buyer. I don?t care about the remote control, the recording or programming capacities, the commercial skip function or any of the other regular consumer functions. I am also very hard on my VCRs: I use them for hours at a time, pushing buttons and changing speeds and directions hundreds of times a day. Therefore, my review will be somewhat different from those of people using the VCR in a more customary manner.
Here are the features that are essential to me:
VIDEO PLAYBACK FUNCTIONS
Slow Motion: It is essential that I be able to watch my tapes in slow motion, preferably at different speeds. The 7600 lets me watch my videos at 1/2, 1/3, -1/2 and ?1/3 speeds. I was worried that I might need intermediate speeds, but these have been quite sufficient.
Fast Forward and Fast Reverse: This is also a critical feature for me, so I can skip segments or go back quickly to an interesting event. The 7600 has 1.5x, 2x, 3x, 5x, and 7x fast forward speeds, and the same in reverse (minus the 1.5x speed). This is more than I need, though I have used them all.
Jog shuttle: Most VCR?s have a little dial that you turn to modify the playback speed, but the speed reverts to normal once you let go of the dial. Were I to use such a dial, I would get carpal tunnel very quickly. The 7600 has a dial that stays where you put it ? an essential feature for me and my wrist.
The dial settings are a little odd and took some getting used to. If you are in PLAY mode and you turn the dial clockwise one notch you go to 1.5, but if you go counterclockwise instead you drop to 1/2 speed. So clockwise corresponds to "faster" than PLAY and counterclockwise to "slower" than PLAY. So if I want to go to slow reverse I have to twirl the know three notches counterclockwise. Took a little getting used to, but I have it down pat now.
Frame by Frame: This is a really stellar feature on the 7600. I can go frame by frame manually by rotating the jog shuttle. I can also choose two speeds of frame by frame viewing, which is a wonderful feature ? it really saves my wrist.
Finger hole in dial: Most VCRs have a ring shaped dial with little bumps on it (like Braille) for frame by frame viewing. Your finger catches on the bumps and the ring moves. I don?t like these, as they require more finger pressure to make the dial rotate, and my finger tends to slide off the dial, which is hard on my wrist. I much prefer the little indentation in the jog shuttle ? which the 7600 has. It is a little shallow for constant use, but it has a tiny ridge around the edge which helps catch my fingertip.
Pause: The pause function is pretty good. I do find that when I hit pause, the tape tends to advance several frames before it stops, which is a little annoying, as I have to reverse it manually frame by frame to see what I wanted. I would prefer an instant pause, but that is a really fussy point.
Stop: The stop function is very gratifying. This has got to be one of the best stop buttons I have ever used. I put the tape in fast forward, and when I hit the stop button the tape comes to an immediate halt. It is so responsive that I am confident I can stop within about 10 seconds of where I need to be.
Button Feel: The buttons have a nice firm feel to them, they give good tactile feedback. However, the PLAY, PAUSE and DIGITAL TBC dials are all very close together, so I sometimes have trouble telling them apart by touch. I usually have to look at my hands. I would prefer a little tactile differentiation so I don?t have to look. But I figure that most people use their remote so I represent a very small minority in my request.
AUDIO FUNCTIONS
Hi-fi left and Hi-fi right separation: When recording my videos, I use the two audio tracks differently, so I need to be able to play them back separately. It took me a day to discover this function, but I can now turn off one audio channel or the other, which is very helpful.
Turning off audio during slow motion: At first , I was very amused by the fact that the VCR plays sound during slow motion and fast playback. The sound gets distorted, and it is quite funny to listen to. For my tapes, slow motion sounded like aliens landing in my living room ? a mechanical, creepy, whining noise. However, this got old very quickly, and I got a headache. Then I discovered I could turn off sound playback during slow motion! JVC thinks of everything!
CONCLUSION
The JVC HR-S7600 has all the unusual functions I need for intensive video playback. I recognize that few people will use the VCR like I do, but this one is flexible enough to serving my needs perfectly.
A little background: I am a graduate student in animal behavior, and I go into the wild for a few weeks or a month with a bunch of video equipment and a marine battery. I run experiments with my study animals, and videotape what happens. Then I return home, and for the following year I crawl through the videotapes in slow motion, forward and backwards, frame by frame, counting the different behaviors I see, for hours at a time.
So I use a VCR quite differently from the average VCR buyer. I don?t care about the remote control, the recording or programming capacities, the commercial skip function or any of the other regular consumer functions. I am also very hard on my VCRs: I use them for hours at a time, pushing buttons and changing speeds and directions hundreds of times a day. Therefore, my review will be somewhat different from those of people using the VCR in a more customary manner.
Here are the features that are essential to me:
VIDEO PLAYBACK FUNCTIONS
Slow Motion: It is essential that I be able to watch my tapes in slow motion, preferably at different speeds. The 7600 lets me watch my videos at 1/2, 1/3, -1/2 and ?1/3 speeds. I was worried that I might need intermediate speeds, but these have been quite sufficient.
Fast Forward and Fast Reverse: This is also a critical feature for me, so I can skip segments or go back quickly to an interesting event. The 7600 has 1.5x, 2x, 3x, 5x, and 7x fast forward speeds, and the same in reverse (minus the 1.5x speed). This is more than I need, though I have used them all.
Jog shuttle: Most VCR?s have a little dial that you turn to modify the playback speed, but the speed reverts to normal once you let go of the dial. Were I to use such a dial, I would get carpal tunnel very quickly. The 7600 has a dial that stays where you put it ? an essential feature for me and my wrist.
The dial settings are a little odd and took some getting used to. If you are in PLAY mode and you turn the dial clockwise one notch you go to 1.5, but if you go counterclockwise instead you drop to 1/2 speed. So clockwise corresponds to "faster" than PLAY and counterclockwise to "slower" than PLAY. So if I want to go to slow reverse I have to twirl the know three notches counterclockwise. Took a little getting used to, but I have it down pat now.
Frame by Frame: This is a really stellar feature on the 7600. I can go frame by frame manually by rotating the jog shuttle. I can also choose two speeds of frame by frame viewing, which is a wonderful feature ? it really saves my wrist.
Finger hole in dial: Most VCRs have a ring shaped dial with little bumps on it (like Braille) for frame by frame viewing. Your finger catches on the bumps and the ring moves. I don?t like these, as they require more finger pressure to make the dial rotate, and my finger tends to slide off the dial, which is hard on my wrist. I much prefer the little indentation in the jog shuttle ? which the 7600 has. It is a little shallow for constant use, but it has a tiny ridge around the edge which helps catch my fingertip.
Pause: The pause function is pretty good. I do find that when I hit pause, the tape tends to advance several frames before it stops, which is a little annoying, as I have to reverse it manually frame by frame to see what I wanted. I would prefer an instant pause, but that is a really fussy point.
Stop: The stop function is very gratifying. This has got to be one of the best stop buttons I have ever used. I put the tape in fast forward, and when I hit the stop button the tape comes to an immediate halt. It is so responsive that I am confident I can stop within about 10 seconds of where I need to be.
Button Feel: The buttons have a nice firm feel to them, they give good tactile feedback. However, the PLAY, PAUSE and DIGITAL TBC dials are all very close together, so I sometimes have trouble telling them apart by touch. I usually have to look at my hands. I would prefer a little tactile differentiation so I don?t have to look. But I figure that most people use their remote so I represent a very small minority in my request.
AUDIO FUNCTIONS
Hi-fi left and Hi-fi right separation: When recording my videos, I use the two audio tracks differently, so I need to be able to play them back separately. It took me a day to discover this function, but I can now turn off one audio channel or the other, which is very helpful.
Turning off audio during slow motion: At first , I was very amused by the fact that the VCR plays sound during slow motion and fast playback. The sound gets distorted, and it is quite funny to listen to. For my tapes, slow motion sounded like aliens landing in my living room ? a mechanical, creepy, whining noise. However, this got old very quickly, and I got a headache. Then I discovered I could turn off sound playback during slow motion! JVC thinks of everything!
CONCLUSION
The JVC HR-S7600 has all the unusual functions I need for intensive video playback. I recognize that few people will use the VCR like I do, but this one is flexible enough to serving my needs perfectly.
